Ironcast is a game that attempts to blends together several different game mechanics. But does this mish mash of styles make for a compelling strategy experience?
Ironcast is an amalgamation of different gameplay styles. It's turn based combat married with match three puzzle elements, rewards and a progressive leveling up system shouldn't really work but somehow it does. Set in 1885, England is at war with France over an energy source called Voltite. You command a 20ft tall Ironcast mech which is armed to the teeth with all kinds of weaponry and defensive capabilities. Unusually for a game about war you are not playing as a member of the armed forces. This war is fought by the men and women of The Consortium of Merit a privately run organisation of the wealthy elite who have sworn to protect England by using their superior intellect and engineering prowess.
When you begin the game you will be asked if you want to play through the tutorial. This is a necessary evil and goes on and on but without it you're going to be confused quite quickly. This tutorial introduces you to the game's weapon systems, puzzle nodes and various win conditions and when you're fully versed in the game's mechanics it's off to war you go. Your missions are generated randomly out of a choice of three scenarios and boss fights occur after nine days have passed in game. The missions aren't all about destroying other mechs though. You will find yourself taking down defenses that have been laid by the enemy or even bartering with a local merchant for much needed supplies. If you succeed in your mission you will be given scrap metal which is the game's currency and XP will also be rewarded. The more interesting rewards are blueprints that you can use to upgrade and improve your mech and also additional manpower to help you in your war against France. The missions you face get harder the longer the war goes on but you also grow stronger the deeper you get into the campaign and those blueprints become worth their weight in gold. 
When you take your first turn you will need to match three nodes of the same colour together. Each node represents your mechs ammo, energy, repair and coolant with additional modes coming into play as the game progresses such as overdrive, shields and evasive maneuvers. With each row of nodes you match supply points will be totalled up and sent to the specific area until you reach the maximum amount of points that can be allocated to it. When you have completed three chains your move is over and it's the turn of the AI. Coolant is extremely important because everything the mech can do will drain this precious resource and if you run out of it your mech will take additional damage and this can lead to a pretty swift death. But in death you will be rewarded global XP that unlocks different Ironcast mechs, pilots, skills and stat bonuses and you will welcome death and it will come swiftly at first. But as your stats grow and you perform better your unlocks will come thick and fast and you will become a death dealing bipedal machine. Ironcast wears its Steampunk influence proudly. The gorgeous painted visuals help bring the game to life. Everything here is still life apart from your mech and the game board. The story is told through beautifully painted pictures which are accompanied by type writer sound effects. The background buildings are bland as hell though. Why go to all the time and effort of creating beautiful visuals and then just drop in blame looking buildings?
I usually hate games like Ironcast due to the simplistic match three gameplay. But here it works brilliantly when combined with all the other gameplay mechanics. Ironcast could have became a jumbled up mess but instead it's a very strategic and unique experience.
Publisher: Dreadbit
Developer: Ripstone Limited
Modes: Single Player
Ironcast is available now for £9.99
Review code supplied by XCN.